Mumbai Saga Movie Review: John & Emraan's Promising Partnership Goes To Waste In A Sloppy Narrative Marred By Cliches

A very few scenarios come to mind when thinking about endings of movies that feature a cat and mouse chase. The few that manage to surprise in these scenarios are generally the ones worth remembering and sadly Sanjay Gupta’s Mumbai Saga isn’t one of those films.

Mumbai Saga is set in the ‘80s and ‘90s and speaks about the rise of one gang leader Amartya Rao played by John Abraham . Oppressed by the ‘haafta’ situation in his area, John’s character rises up against a gang leader Gaitonde and finds himself ruling half the city just one Achilles heel, his younger brother’s welfare. Amartya finds himself in trouble after the cold-blooded murder of an industrialist who tries going after his brother and comes face to face with encounter specialist Vijay Savarkar, played by Emraan Hashmi , after a bounty of Rs. 10 crores is placed on his head.

Reading the premise itself gives you and an idea about how much fuel Sanjay Gupta had at his disposal to create a big blast. Sadly the movie fails on several accounts, direction being just one of them. With too many loose ends to tie, Mumbai Saga suffers the curse of the sloppy second half which is ironically the point of Emraan’s character getting into action. John packed enough punches in the first half building up expectations that the climax or even the chase fails to deliver on.

Full points to Emraan Hashmi though who fits into his role seamlessly and is every bit entertaining to watch. John is in his element as far as the action in the film is concerned, shouldering full responsibility with utmost sincerity and is aided by good action choreography. The dialogues keep you engaged but are not enough to distract you from the choppy editing that leaves you often confused.

Apart from the two stars that keep the film alive, Mahesh Manjrekar impresses as the king making politician. Kajal Aggarwal is reduced to a fashionable accessory in the plot but does her best to liven up the few scenes she has. Prateik Babbar as John’s brother is promising in whatever little he gets to do but is sadly cut off before you get too invested in him.

Mumbai Saga keeps you busy at best but draws short on expectations. The filmmaker knows his end goal but it is all the in-between part that is all muddled and confusing. Plots points are mostly all gangster drama cliches which you can see coming from a mile away and in many places they are even forced to give the narrative momentum.

There is a point right before the climax where things seem to be taking an interesting turn with a brief background to Emraan Hashmi’s character but nothing comes of it except more confusion and unanswered questions. Mumbai Saga ultimately leaves you to make sense of many aspects of the story except those related to John’s Amartya.

The movie is a one-time watch at best. Give it a go for John and Emraan’s partnership but leave all other expectations at home.